His body and his ego throbbed. Cade knew he was suffering from at least a couple of broken or bruised ribs but his breathing felt normal and there was no additional pain. His left shoulder had been dislodged and his forehead, the good half of his face, felt scraped.
“For Goddess’ sake!” Cade said, looking down at the scorching on his chest. “How am I alive after that?”
Cade counted his breaths for a moment, allowing his adrenaline to level out. As he stabilized the pain began to hit him. The burning on his chest mixed with the broken ribs proved to be more than he anticipated. With a groan, he hoisted himself up and leaned up against the tree behind him.
“Brake.” He said into his communicator. “Come in Brake.”
“Waiting and ready sir.” Brake replied. “Your activity levels are through the roof, is everything okay?”
“I… seem to have come into contact with an ancient.” Cade said. “One who was not keen on me speaking with the demon.”
“That is unfortunate sir.” Brake said. “Are you all in one piece?”
“Barely.” Cade replied. “I need painkillers… some that won’t make me hallucinate.”
“Understood.” Brake said. “I will relay the command to your NaNe. Expect to feel some numbness and perhaps some drowsiness…”
“Negative.” Cade replied. “I can not afford to be slowed down at this point. Do you have other options?”
“Patching you through to your transport’s comm-system Sir.” Brake said, “Would be best for you to speak with Doctor Smirnov on this matter.”
“Roger that.” Cade said, standing by.
He pushed himself away from the tree he was leaning against and took a step toward the woods. Each step provided to be more painful than the previous but despite the pain he was able to gain some momentum. He briefly looked back toward the village he had just come from, knowing he had only half-completed his mission.
Crinnan had not been flooded with NaNe which left him in a vulnerable state. Without the NaNe he would be unable to heal properly and would not be protected against sickness… and if he died, even his conscience couldn’t be uploaded to the Hells and he would be lost forever.
“Why do I care?” Cade asked himself as he limped into the darkness. “He would never do this for me…” Cade thought about it and shook his head. He was being selfish, Crinnan did not even know Cade existed… he didn’t know that Kierson Jamiso existed under the moniker of President Cade Levinson; that his eldest brother having been hidden in the shadows all these years without so much as a hello had been watching out for him.
“My damned siblings…” Cade said, breathing heavily and sweating profusely from the pain. “Why do they do this? Do they not know I have a corporation to run? That I have an… empire to build?” He sighed and shook his head. “Of course they do not know.”
“Sayraa… so busy running her own empire. Rubaan, overwhelmed with the day to day of family life… Cris, trying so hard to be like Crinnan… and Crinnan; the number one fugitive of the Govian Empire. Why do I after all these years choose to hide in the shadows and protect you all?” Cade sighed and pressed forward.
“Cade, are you okay?” Doctor Smirnov’s voice said through the communicator, “What has happened?”
“I can barely handle this pain.” Cade replied. “I was blasted out a second story window… by an Ancient.”
“An Ancient?” Smirnov repeated. “And you still stand?”
“Just barely.” Cade growled. “I need help… I think I have broken a few ribs, a dislocated arm and I took a NaNe blast to the chest. There may be a concussion in there too, I’m… I’m not sure.”
“You are fortunate you have anything left.” Smirnov said. “Do you have that salve I sent with you?”
“I do… the sap from the Lithaani Sentinel?”
“Yes.” Smirnov replied. “Apply it to your chest and ribs, though I haven’t fully tested it on major wounds, I believe it should provide some pain relief and possibly expedite the healing process… and as far as the shoulder goes… do you know how to reduce it?”
Cade grit his teeth and groaned at the amount of pain he was feeling. He fell down to his knees and lowered his head.
“No.” He said, “I have never dislocated it before.”
“Then you will need to be careful with it.” Smirnov said, “Create a sling for it if you can, otherwise stay off of it until we can pick you up.”
“Fine.” Cade replied. “But I need to flood my brother before…” he went silent.
“Your brother?” Ebren’s voice boomed over the communicator, “The Demon is your brother?!”
Cade muted his communicator and cursed. “Fucking idiot.” He growled. “How could you be so fucking stupid…” He took a breath and unmuted his communicator.
“...yes.” Cade said to Ebren. “And remember your place Ebren. I do not answer to you.”
“You have us venturing into one of the most dangerous places on the planet for personal reasons?!” Ebren shouted, “This will be included in my report… you are assisting a fugitive of the Govian Empire. You should be tried and…”
“Nida.” Cade said into the communicator. “Do you hear me?”
“I do.” Nida said. Cade could still hear Ebren shouting in the background.
“I need him silenced.” Cade said. “Toss him out.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” Ebren declared. “Get your slimy hands off of me! The other two presidents will hear of this treachery!” Cafe heard the sound of the door to his ship open. Ebren roared with anger and then he heard the door close.
“We will bring him back aboard once I return.” Cade said. “Until then…” Cade heard something rustling in the foliage around him. He flipped his communicator shut and grabbed his sword.
“Who’s there?” He asked into the darkness. He was far enough away from the village at that point that the torchlight gave him no visibility. He tried to squint and adjust his eyes to his surroundings but was only able to make out the form of the figure in front of him.
“Who are you?” Cade demanded as he tried to figure out what he was looking at. “What do you want?”
The figure before him stood taller than he with broad shoulders and long arms that came to a point at the bottom. In the darkness it looked like it had swords where it’s arms should have been.
“Get out of here…” Cade said. “Whoever you are. I am on important business and do not need…” The figure hissed at Cade and with his one good hand, Cade quickly drew his sword.
“I don't have time for this!” Cade growled. “I’ll cut your hissing ass to pieces if I have to.”
Cade felt his adrenaline return and his pain began to subside. He looked toward his hissing foe and waited.
“What are you?” Cade asked as the sword-armed beast breathed heavily in front of him. “What do you want with me?”
Without a word, the beast lurched forward. Cade quickly sidestepped the attack and the beast planted his two sword arms into the trunk of the tree that Cade had previously rested on. It tried to pull its blades away from the wood but found itself stuck.
“What kind of stupid fuck are you?” Cade found himself asking as he grabbed his abdomen. He watched in the darkness as the monster violently fought to free its arms. Fortunately for Cade, its efforts were in vain.
“You were not born like this…” Cade said as he shone a light he had pulled from his belt onto the monster. “You are no Toraan, no ancient… you were… created?” The beast ripped one of its blades from the tree and Cade quickly swung his own, relieving the monster of its head.
“And now you are dead.” Cade said as he examined the bleeding corpse. He looked at the surgical scars on the beast’s arm. The hands had been professionally removed and the healing around the blades made it look almost natural. Cade hummed and opened his communicator.
“Brake.” Cade said into his communicator. “I am sending you a picture, run it through our bestiary. This is something I
have never seen before.” Cade turned his communicator around and snapped a photo of the headless beast. “You should be receiving it any moment.”
“Dura’Ana’s grace…” Brake said with a surprised tone. “What is that thing?”
“I was hoping you could tell me.” Cade replied. “It was alive… weaponized. Looks like it was made by someone, like it was once a person.”
“Scanning now.” Brake said. “Sir, if I may.”
“Go ahead.” Cade replied.
“That is some weird shit.”
Cade snickered and knelt down. The pain in his abdomen was immense but he knew it was not life threatening. He rested up against the tree that the beast was hanging from and took a few deep breaths.
“I did not get an opportunity to flood the Demon.” Cade said to Brake.
“But you did purge him?” Brake asked.
“I did.” Cade replied. “I have his old NaNe here with me now.”
“When you get to a computer we can analyze his data.” Brake said. “I can discover who he is and what he did.”
Cade was silent. He already knew who the Demon was. He had kept a watchful eye over him for many years. He watched Crinnan’s career, tracked his progress… of course he was interested in his brother but his desire to know he was okay was fueled by the unshakable love he held for his family…
Crinnan had been missing for nearly ninety days. The official report was that he was dead and Cade had been able to confirm that report simply by checking Crinnan’s NaNe signature. Cade could remember the pain it gave him to see no vital signs, no brain activity. He thought of all the things he could have done to prevent Crinnan’s death, he ran through all the scenarios in his head.
Of course Cade could not blame himself for Crinnan’s death, he could not allow himself to fall down that hole but he still wished he had been able to make himself known while Crinnan was still alive. He wished he could have at least told Crinnan that his eldest brother was alive and well.
When Crinnan came back… when his NaNe signature once again showed signs of life, Cade could not believe his eyes. He had been stone cold for ninety days, how could his NaNe possibly have so suddenly shown any signs of life?
The vision Cade experienced beneath the Lithaani Sentinel thrust Cade into action. He had to get to Crinnan before anyone else. Before the headhunters or the Govian army. Even before either of the other divisions of his own Agra Triangle Corporation could get close, Cade had to get to his little brother.
“Nothing.” Brake said over the communicator. “We have never seen anything like this before… we would benefit from a tissue sample.”
“No problem.” Cade said, pulling a knife from his belt. He filleted a small slice of flesh from the beast and stored it in a glass vial he had on him. “I have a sample for when I return home.”
“This… this is something I have never seen before Mister President.” Brake continued. “It looks… like blood magic… necromancy, something dark…”
“We have traveled all the reachable world Brake.” Cade said, resting his head against the tree. “Unless the prisoners or natives in the western continent have created these dark arts then I think we can count sorcery out.”
“There is ample evidence suggesting sorcery, including necromancy, existed in the Age of Blood…” Brake argued. “Whatever power may have fueled that may not…”
“Brake.” Cade replied. “Enough.” He stood up from the ground, the sap from the Lithaani Sentinel had begun to do its job. He was feeling less and less pain.
“Yes sir.” Brake replied. “I will explore more… grounded possibilities until you are able to digitize the sample. Until then.”
“Until then.” Cade said, flipping his communicator shut.
Cade bent over and reclaimed his sword. Slowly, he wiped the blood off of it and slid it into its scabbard. After that, he grabbed his ancient rifle and slung it over his shoulder.
He pulled his tablet computer from the satchel at his side and plugged Crinnan's NaNe into a port on the side. “Just needs to decrypt...” he said as he watched the data copy over. “Brake does not need to know quite yet...”
His thoughts raced as the data transferred and his mind wandered to Nida. “She was right.” He said, cringing at a sudden sting in his side. “To be worried about me...” He pulled out his communicator and held it to his ear.
“Cade.” He heard Nida say. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine.” He replied. “I am sending you the Demon’s data. I need you to find something for me.”
“What about Brake?” She asked. “Wouldn’t he be…”
“I trust you more Nida.” Cade replied, “Can you do this?”
“No problem.” She said. She sounded happy to hear those words. He liked that. He waited a moment for the decryption process to finish and then he sent it to her.
“You should be getting it any minute now. Let me know when you have received it.” There was a brief moment of silence but then she spoke again.
“I have it.” She said, seeming occupied. “Okay… what did you need me to find?”
“Scan his memories... find the most recent communicator number for Century Squad.” He said, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. “How long do you think that will take?”
“Hopefully not very.” Nida replied, “Sit tight.”
Cade heard bushes rustling somewhere ahead of him. He cursed and laid down, stuffing his computer back into satchel. The last thing he wanted was to have to deal with another one of those monsters.
“I have it.” Nida said over the communicator. “Are you ready?”
“Hang on.” Cade said, shouldering his rifle. The ground was cold on his exposed skin but fortunately for him the major pain had mostly left him. He activated the night vision on his scope and looked through.
“Shit...” He said under his breath. “I was too late.” Cade saw a large squad of Govian soldiers making their way through the woods toward the village he had just come from.
“Ok hurry, give me the number.” He said.
“H436-60098” She replied.
“I will contact you soon.” He said quickly as he closed both his communicator and his eyes. He took in a deep breath and stood himself up. He opened his communicator again and punched in the number for Century Squad.
The internal speaker in his communicator indicated that it was connecting. He hoped that somebody would answer.
“Dauid’s decadent desserts. How can I help you?” A female voice said.
“Shut up for a minute.” Cade said, interrupting her. “Crinnan Jamiso is alive and I need to talk with Captain Bran now.” There was a pause and then he heard someone else's voice over the speaker. A much louder, deeper and more more direct voice.
“Who is this?” The person asked, almost yelling.
“This is President Cade Larnyks.” Cade replied. “I know exactly where Crinnan Jamiso is and you, Captain Bran, need to listen to me.”
“President Cade?” Bran repeated. There was a pause and then he spoke again. “Go ahead...”
“Good.” Cade said, “Crinnan is in a place called Pado Village. It is about twenty kilometers directly east of the Izla’Axi Caverns.”
“Everyone seems to be talking about that damned ghost.” Bran replied, “The Demon, they are calling him… what has he gotten himself into?”
“He is alive.” Cade replied, “That is all I know. I just spoke with him. He is heading back to the caverns as we speak but the Govians and… something else... are trailing him and his NaNe has been purged.”
“How do I know you’re not setting us up?” Bran asked.
“You don’t… But you are one of few who know who I am Bran.” Cade said. “I would not betray that. Your interests are mine. All you can do is trust me on that one.”
“Your people have made that pretty damn difficult, boy.” Bran replied, “Your corporation's reputation ain’t exactly sterling. If you’re double crossing
me…”
“I understand.” Cade replied, “I need to discuss something with your advisor, Lady Emerald.”
“Emerald?” Bran repeated.
“Put her on.” Cade said, interrupting Bran. “It is very important.” There was a brief pause but then a female spoke.
“Cade.” Emerald said, “My child, how are you?”
“No time for that.” Cade said, “Crinnan's been purged.”
“Purged?” Emerald repeated, “Wait, you found him? How did he end up purged?”
“I did it.” Cade replied. “To keep our enemies from tracking him. The Govian army is after him. I thought it was the best decision…”
“You were right.” Emerald said, “But you did not flood him?”
“No, I could not.” Cade said. “I did not have enough time. I was blown out a window by an Elf… I believe it was Sajinious Lynx.” Emerald hummed and was silent for a moment.
“Child, you need to make it certain that no harm will come to Crinnan.” Emerald finally said. “He is very important. If he dies then it will be his blood on your hands. You do not want that do you?”
“No.” Cade said, “I will protect him until he is delivered to you.”
“Good boy. Do your best to keep him away from Sajinious.” Emerald said. “Will I see you soon?”
“No.” Cade said. “I will be gone before any of Century finds me.”
“Then know nephew that I love you.” She said. “And I am very proud of you.”
“I love you too.” Cade replied. “Explain the situation to Bran for me... Goodbye...” He closed the communicator and slid it in his pocket. He felt his eyes well up and he shook his head hard.
“No time for that.” He said to himself. “I need to get moving!”
Chapter 9: Part One
The Demon IX
22nd of Ramlia - 346AG
20:00 - Pado Village - Belhaasi Weald
Crinnan stepped out of the shower and grabbed one of the towels from above the toilet. The towel itself was coarse and felt like drying off with thin fabric but he did not complain. The shower was invigorating. It gave him time to think and helped with his sore body a little bit, but not too much. Mostly, he just thought.
Black Knight - Awakening: Part One Page 18
